Tips for Writing Concisely

Whether you're working in the office or remotely, you may have attended meetings this year that felt like they should have been emails. Similarly, you might have come across lengthy emails that could have been shorter. When conveying complex ideas, take the necessary space to explain them clearly. However, lengthy and repetitive writing can burden your readers by making it challenging for them to grasp your message easily. In such instances, it's essential to edit your work. Surprisingly, crafting a concise piece often requires more time than writing a longer one. For instance, the initial draft of this article exceeded the current word count by 500 words. John Locke, in 1690, acknowledged this struggle in "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," admitting, "To confess the truth, I am now too lazy, or too busy to make it shorter." Finding time to write efficiently can be challenging. Even if you have only a few minutes to spare for editing, consider these three strategies to streamline your writing.

1. Delete words that don’t add anything to your sentence.

Many workplace documents are burdened by unnecessary words like generally, basically, actually, kind of, really, virtually, totally, essentially, completely, practically, literally, and just. Eliminating these words can enhance the clarity of your writing. Once you develop the habit of removing these words, you will notice an improvement in your writing. If these words are not crucial to your sentence, it is advisable to omit them. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if a word should be kept:

• What does the word contribute to your sentence?

• Will your sentence lose meaning if the word is removed?

• Does keeping the word weaken your message?

For example, consider the sentence: "Because the pandemic completely strained our hospitals, we had to essentially reconsider the role of telehealth in our medical system." Assess whether "completely" and "essentially" are necessary. Does "completely" emphasize the severity of the strain on hospitals? Is there a distinction between "reconsidering" and "essentially reconsidering"? If the goal is to imply partial reconsideration, then "essentially" may not be needed. In this case, both "completely" and "essentially" dilute the message rather than enhance it.

Regarding the sentence: "When we want to change suppliers, we generally hire an outside firm to vet our options." Consider the purpose of "generally." If removing it does not affect the intended meaning, it may be better to rewrite the sentence for clarity, such as: "When we want to change suppliers, we hire an outside firm to vet our options unless one of our partners has already vetted suppliers." In conclusion, retain necessary words and eliminate or substitute unnecessary ones to improve the effectiveness of your writing.

2. Cut the overlap.

Writing helps us clarify our thoughts, leading to repetition as we refine our ideas. For instance, in the initial draft of this article, I repeated myself to convey the point that repetition arises from uncertainty. Through revision, I condensed the information, highlighting the causal relationship between writing and repetition. Identifying and addressing redundancy during editing can significantly streamline your content. For example, in a text discussing staffing problems, the author highlights the impact of low salaries and housing costs in attracting employees. By combining and condensing these points, the revised sentence effectively communicates the issue in a more concise manner.

3. Instead of telling us what you’re going to do in a sentence, just do it.

Consider these two sentences:

• To improve our onboarding process, I will now offer three steps. (14 words)

• We should take three steps to improve our onboarding process. (10 words)

The first sentence directs attention towards the writer, rather than the recommendations for the onboarding process. Writers often include such commentary while drafting a document to convey their thought process. However, readers may not require insight into the journey the writer took during the drafting process. They simply need to know the outcome. In the second example: Our current staffing problems have worsened due to low salaries and housing costs in our target cities. By removing unnecessary introductory words, readers still understand the author is addressing staffing issues. While occasional use of unnecessary words or overlapping sentences is not catastrophic, these habits can lead to wordiness. Consistent application of concise writing strategies results in more succinct and impactful content.